Indian Peacock (Pavo cristatus) - Yala, Sri LankaIndian Peafowl are a common sight in the dry zone jungles of Sri Lanka and are probably one of the most easily recognisable birds in the area. The male has an unmistakable train of elongated blue and green upper tail covert feathers and a metallic blue crown and neck. The female doesn't have ...
Little Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis) - Yala, Sri LankaThe Little Green Bee-eater is a common sight throughout Sri Lanka's dry zone and can often be heard twittering in open grasslands. Its Blue/Green chin makes it easy to differentiate this species from other Bee-eaters found in Sri Lanka (Blue-tailed Bee-Eater, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater and the European Bee-eater).More photographs inside.Little Green Bee-eater (Merops ...
Three-spot Grass Yellow (Eurema blanda) - Thalangama, Sri LankaThe Three-spot Grass Yellow is a common butterfly belonging to the Pieridae family. It's range covers both the wet and dry zones of Sri Lanka. I've photographed this species in Thalangama, Yala and Anuradhapura on a number of occasions.More photographs after the jump.Three-spot Grass Yellow (Eurema blanda) - Thalangama, Sri LankaIts wingspan ...
Leopard - Yala, Sri LankaI've still got a number of photographs of Leopard taken in Sri Lanka which I have not had a chance to share until now. The photograph above was our ninth and last sighting of a Leopard in Yala. We saw it on the further side of an open plain near the entrance to the park. We ...
Green Skimmer (Ortherum sabina sabina) - Yala, Sri Lanka Between the morning and afternoon drives through the Yala national park I spent some time experimenting with my macro lens. I'm still getting the hang of using it but it was very early days in Yala. Fortunately the harsh midday light ruled out the need for a flash and simplified things ...
The Moonstone at Magul Maha Viharaya - Lahugala, Sri LankaWhile driving back form Arugam Bay, on the east coast of Sri Lanka, we took a detour to visit Magul Maha Viharaya, off Lahugala. This temple complex dates back to the 14th century when it was known as Ruhunu Maha Viharaya. It is said to have been built to commemorate the ...
Bhaja Caves - Pune, IndiaI was in Pune on work last week and managed to free up sometime (by starting pretty early in the morning!) to see a few of the local sights. Bhaja caves was one of two old Buddhist cave temples I visited during the week. The cave temples are said to belong to the Theravada stream of ...
Ashy Prinia (Prinia socialis brevicauda) - Yala, Sri LankaThe Ashy Prinia, also known as the Ashy Wren-Warbler, is found throughout Sri Lanka but it is commoner in the dry zone. I had photographed this species previously, on a trip to Anuradhapura a few years ago and got another opportunity to photograph it in Yala last year.More photographs after the jump.Ashy ...
Oriental White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosa) - Thalangama, Sri Lanka The Oriental White-eye is a common bird found in the lowlands in both the dry and wet zones of Sri Lanka. It can be found in the mid hills as well but is rarely seen at higher elevations. On my last trip to Sri Lanka I was able to photograph these birds ...
Black-fronted Barbet (Rhopocichla atriceps siccata) - Thalangama, Sri LankaI photographed a flock of Black-fronted Babblers in Thalangama while they foraged through the undergrowth. I hadn't photographed them prior to this and was quite happy that I was able to move quite close to them and fire off a number of frames.More photographs inside.Black-fronted Barbet (Rhopocichla atriceps siccata) - Thalangama, Sri ...
The Skyline - Sydney, AustraliaI hadn't been out in the city with the camera for sometime so decided to go for a bit of a walk last night. I started off near Mrs Macquarie's chair near the open air cinema but didn't have any particular route in mind. I wasn't after any specific shots last night, just a walk and ...
Common Wood-Shrike (Tephrodornis pondicerianus) - Yala, Sri LankaThe Common Wood-Shrike is a member of the helmetshrike family Prionopidae and is found throughout Southern Asia. The sub-species found in Sri Lanka is sometimes considered a separate species, the Sri Lanka Woodshrike. I photographed them in Yala and Anuradhapura in July.More photographs inside.Common Wood-Shrike (Tephrodornis pondicerianus) - Yala, Sri LankaIn Sri Lanka ...
Main Beach - Forster, AustraliaThe 26th of January is Australia Day, one of a handful of public holidays over here in Australia. Since it fell on a Thursday this year, we took Friday off and headed up to Forster for the long weekend. We stayed at one of our friends apartments which is just a block away form Main Beach.More ...
Garden Orb-weaver Spider (Eriophora transmarina) - Sydney, AustraliaI took the macro lens out over the weekend hoping to photograph some spiders in the garden. I found a number of Garden Orb Weavers in the shrubs along the driveway and spent some time photographing them. The fact that they spend a lot of time under their webs made the whole task ...
Leopard - Wilpattu, Sri LankaOn our last trip to Sri Lanka we were able to visit Wipattu while we were staying in Anuradhapura. Due to time constraints we were able to do just one drive in the park. However, we were quite lucky as we atually managed to see 3 Leopards in the park.More photographs after the jump. Leopard - ...
Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica) - Sinharaja, Sri LankaOf all the pigeons found in Sri Lanka, the Emerald Dove is easily the most striking. It's brilliant green wings and red beak and feet make identification easy. It's a shy bird and as a result, although common, is rarely seen. On my last trip to Sri Lanka I photographed this species in ...
Grizzled Giant Squirrel (Ratufa macroura) - Anuradhapura, Sri LankaThe Grizzled Giant Squirrel is a large tree squirrel found in Sri Lanka and India. According to the IUCN, it is a "vulnerable" species which is considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild. As a result, it can be found on the IUCN's "Red List" of threatened ...
Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela spilogaster) - Wilpattu, Sri LankaThe Serpent Eagle is one of the more common birds of prey found in Sri Lanka. Although it is found across tropical Asia, the Sri Lankan subspecies is endemic. In total, 21 subspecies of the Serpent Eagle have been identified across its range.More photographs after the jump. Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis ...
Weaver Ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) - Colombo, Sri LankaWeaver Ants are one of the most common ant species found in Sri Lanka. I came across a nest in the garden and used the macro lens to photograph them. These ants are known for their skills in building nests by weaving leaves together using larval silk. Colonies can be extremely large and ...
Tailed Jay (Graphium agamemnon) - Thalangama, Sri LankaI photographed the Tailed Jay (Graphium agamemnon) on a couple of early morning trips to the Thalangama wetland in July. I hadn't photographed this species before and was fortunate to get quite close to it. Again, the fact that these photographs were taken in the morning helped as the butterfly wasn't very active.More ...
